Surface condenser



(No Model.)

S. W. JOHNSON. SURFACE CONDENSER.

,No. 521,469. 7 Patented Juhe 19, 1894.

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NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

SAMUEL W. JOHNSON, OF NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA.

SURFACE CONDENSER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 521,469, dated June 19, 1894. ppli ation filed January 12,1894. Serial No. 496,653. (No model.)

To all whom it may conaerm,

Be it known that I, SAMUEL W. J OHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newport News, in the county of Warwick and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Surface Gondensers 5 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the inventiomsuch as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to certainimprovements in surface condensers; and it consists in the combination and arrangement of devices, whereby complete condensation of gas, under pressure, and steam, may be had and the subsequent cooling oflthe condensed water provided for, as will be hereinafter more fully described and specifically set forth in the claims.

The principal objects of the inventi on'are, first, to subject the coils of pipes in which the condensation is nearly completed to the action of the water at its vcoldest, and to use the 2 5 water, after it has become slightly warmed, on the coils of pipes which contain the gas or steam in a highly heated state; second, to expose the heated gas or steam, first in open-air coils in which the cooling is effected partly by causing water to drip over said coils, partly by the action of the air, and partly by the cooling effect produced by the evaporation of a portion of the condensed water, and subsequently completing the condensation in sub merged coils by which the lowest possible temperature is obtained; third, to provide means by which the water, after it has been used on the submerged coils, shall flow by gravity over the open-air coils and, at the same time, the gas or liquid in said open-air coils shall also flow by gravity into the submerged coils, and the water, after being thus used twice on the gas or liquid coils, shall be caused to repeat the same process on the steam coils,thus making four-separate times that the whole of the water shall have been used on the coils prior to being fed to the boiler,

figure represents a side elevation, partly in section, of my improved condenser, as applied to a machine for the manufacture of ice, in which the separate condensation of gas and steam is simultaneously carried on.

For the sake of convenience I shall describe air and are connected to a supply-pipe, 1, by

v a coupling, 2, and with the condensing-coils,

which are situated in a water tank, 3, by a pipe 4. The condensing-coils are situated on a lower'level than the cooling-coils and are connected with a receiver, 5, into which the liquefied gas is fed, by gravity, as fast as it becomes condensed in said condensing-coils.

The gas cooling apparatus.-Thewater tank 3, is connected with a suitable water-supply by a pipe, 6, and its walls extend some distance above the cooling-coils. To one side of said tank, at its upper edge, is connected one end of a wide over-flow trough, 7, which extends over the cooling-coils and has its other end provided with a series of short outletpipes 8, only one of which is shown. Located above thecooling-coils, and beneath the outlet-pipes, is a series of perforated troughs 9, V 7 (only one being shown,) and beneath said coils' is a drip-pan, 10, the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained. The operation of these devices is as follows:-The cooling watered ters the tank 3 through the pipe 6, and the refrigerating gas enters the cooling-coils through the pipe 1, in a highly heated state. The incoming water rises in the tank and on reaching the overflow trough flows through the same and passing out through the pipes 8 falls in to the perforated troughs, from whence it is distributed in small streams over the cooling-coils and subsequently caught in the drip-pan beneath said coils. By extending the walls of the water tank above the cooling-coils I am enabled to cause the water to flow by gravity, over the cooling-coils, which are placed at such a distance above the condensing-coils that the condensation which is efiected in said cooling-coils will flow, by gravity, into said condensing-coils.

The steam condenser.'lhe letter B indicates the steam condenser, which comprises the open-air steam-condensing coils b, and the submerged steam-condensing coils Z). coils b are connected with an exhaust-steam pipe 11, by a coupling, 12, and with the coils b by a pipe, 13, through which said coils I) receive the drainage from the coils Z). The coils b are connected with areceiver, 14, into which the condensed water drains by gravity;

The steam cooling apparains.-The numeral 15 indicates a water tank in which is located the coils b. This tank is provided with an over-flow trough, 16, which extends over the coils b and has a perforated bottom. Leading from the tank 15 is a pipe, 17, which, passing upward, enters thebottom of thedrippan 10. Located beneath the coils b is aboiler-feed tank, 18, the purpose of which will presently appear. The operation of these devices is as follows:-Steam is admitted into the coils I) through the exhaust-steam pipe, and the water which has been caught in the drip-pan 10 is conducted through the pipe 17 into the tank 15. The Water rises in said tank and overflowing through the perforated trough 16 is distributed in small streams over the coils b and caught in the boiler-feed tank, from which it may be fed to the boiler, not shown.

The means for further utilizing the con:- densing water to cool the condensed water. The letter 0 indicates a pump, which is connected with the condensed-water receiver by a suction-pipe, 19, and with a coil, 20, situated in the drip-pan 10, by a pipe, 2l,.saidcoil 20 being in turn connected with a drip-coil, D, the ends of which only are shown. The dripcoil is connected by a pipe, 22, with a coil, 23, which is situated in the over-flow trough 7 and connected with a filter, 24, which is connected by a pipe, 25, with a storage tank 26.

The operation of the device as a whole is as followsz-The refrigerating gas being admitted to the cooling-coils steam admitted to the steam-coils, and water to the watertank, the water rises to the top of the tank and flowing through the trough 7 and pipes 8 falls into the perforated troughs 9 and is distributed in small streams over the coolingcoils, cooling the liquid in said coils. The said liquid in its cooled state passes into the condensing-coils where it is subjected tothe action of the cold water entering thetank. The liquid in passing through the coolingcoils loses considerable of its heat and is cooled nearly to the point of condensation, so that when it reaches the condensing-coils it will be evident that the constant supply of cold water entering the tankwill keep the said condensingcoils so thoroughlychilled that the condensation of the gas will be most complete The and the lowest possible temperature and pressare obtained. At the same time that condensation of the gas is going on the steam entering the coils I) through the exhaust-steam pipe is being condensed. The water, which is distributed over the cooling-coils and caught in l the drip-pan 10, flows through the pipe 17 into the tank 15 and rising in said tank flows through the-perforated bottom of the trough 1G and is distributed in small streams, over the coils b, causing a partial condensation of the steam in said coil. As the partly condensed steam passes into the submerged coils b it is further subjected to the cooling action of the constant flow of Water from the drip-pan 10, and its condensation is completed. Thus it will be seen. that all of thecondensing water is used four separate times, first, on the partly cooled gas; second, on the gas more highly heated, as it comes to the condenser; third, on the steam partly cooled, but still hotter than the gas, and fourth on the steam at a still higher temperature, asit enters the condenser, and I thereby secure agreater cooling effect with a smaller quantity of water than is possible by the common practice of using the water once on the gas condenser and once on the steam condenser, and then running itto waste.

The water of condensation passes from the condensing-coils b into thereceiving-tank 14-. But said water being ina: highly heated state it is necessary to cool it as much as possible before it reaches thestorage tank 26 and for this purpose, still further utilizes the condensing-water. This is accomplished by means of the pump 0, which sucks the con densed water through the pipe 19 and forces it up through the coil 20, which is submerged in the water in the drip-pan 10; thence through drip-coil D, over which water is dripped from a perforated trough, 27, placed cross-wise beneath the bottom of said trough 7, and fed from the same; thence through coil 23, which is sub merged in the over-flow trough 7, and: thence through the filter 'tothe storage tank 26. Thus it will be seen that the condensed water is brought in contact at each succeeding stage with condensing-water that is cooler than that used on the: preceding coil, thereby insuring the greatest cooling effect.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and: desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a condensing apparatus, the combina tion, with the condensing-coils and coolingcoils, the latter situated on a plane higher than the former, of a water-tank, in which the condensing-coils are submerged,having its walls so constructed and arranged that the overflow water will be conveyed to and caused to flow over said cooling-coils.

2. In a condensing-apparatus, the combination, with the condensing-coils and the cooling-coils arranged atia higher level than said condensing-coils, of a water-tank, in which the condensingcoils are submerged, provided with an inlet and with an overflow trough situated on a plane higher than said cooling-coils and, having an outlet, whereby the overflow water is caused to flow over the cooling-coils.

3. A condensing-apparatus, comprising gas condensing-coils submerged in a water-tank provided with an overflow as described, a set of gas cooling-coils,connected with and placed on a higher level than said condensing-coils, a set of steam condensing-coils submerged in a water-tank as described, which is fed from the overflow of water from the first mentioned tank and aset of steam cooling-coils connected with the set of steam condensing-coils and by a pipe with said drip-pan, a second set of condensing-coils situated in said second tank and connected with a condensed-water receiver, a second set of cooling-coils placed on a higher level than the second set of condensingcoils, and a boiler-feed tank situated beneath said second set of cooling-coils for catching the condensing-water as it is distributed over said coils.

5. The combination, with the steamcondenser, of a condensed-water receiver connected with a pump, a coil situated in the drip-pan beneath the gas cooling-coils and connected with said pump, a set of drip-coils connected with said coil and with a coil situated in the over-flow trough of the water tank,

and a filter connected with the coil in said over-flow trough and with a storage tank.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

4 SAMUEL W. JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

ALICE R. JOHNSON, CLARA L. J OHNSON. 

